Cartoonist Joe Martin "Most Prolific Cartoonist"

It's nice that he's created so many cartoon gags that he's been written up as the "most prolific cartoonist" in the Guinness Book of World Records, but for Joe Martin to infer he's bested Charles Schulz in any way ... well, heck, that's just the height of hubris. Besides, it's quality not quantity.

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. - Joe Martin lives in a world with two dimensions, using drawings and jokes to make America laugh since his days as a young man on Chicago's south side. The Lake Geneva resident knew at age 14 that he wanted to be a cartoonist or a fine artist, but he never envisioned it growing into what it has become. "For 14 years, all rejections from everybody," Martin said, recalling his rough start. But in the last three decades, Martin has built one of the industry's most impressive resumes - a handful of recurring comic strips, his own syndicate and now a revolutionary plan he believes will change the future for cartoonists and newspapers. He's even recognized by Guinness World Records as the "most prolific cartoonist," creating more than 40,000 jokes throughout his career. By comparison, Peanuts illustrator Charles Schulz has managed about half that, he estimated.